Deathtrap Dungeon (book)
Deathtrap Dungeon is a single-player roleplaying gamebook, written by Ian Livingstone, illustrated by Iain McCaig and originally published in 1984 by Puffin Books. It was later republished by Wizard Books in 2002. It forms part of Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone's Fighting Fantasy series. It is the sixth in the series in the original Puffin series (ISBN 0-14-031708-2) and the third in the modern Wizard series (ISBN 1-84046-388-0). Creation The book was written after Ian Livingstone has been on a trekking holiday in northern in 1981. The city of , the and the town of all featured on the trip and ended up as place names in the book. The name for the Baron of Fang, Baron Sukumvit, came from in .25th Anniversary Edition The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, page 220 Background Blurb This Fighting Fantasy gamebook is set in the usual fantasy world of Titan, in the Allansia region. The book takes place in a northern town called Fang. The baron of Fang, Sukumvit, has created a contest, the Trial of Champions, and the player takes the role of an entrant in the contest. Along with five other contestants the player must enter the terrible Deathtrap Dungeon, filled with elaborate traps and dangerous monsters (such as the Bloodbeast featured on the Puffin edition's cover), and emerge alive on the other side in order to be declared the victor. Throughout the book the player has encounters with the other participants in 'The Walk'. The player proceeds through the dungeon, encountering numerous traps and monsters. The book also features encounters with the other participants of the contest. Some of the other participants are already eliminated by the time the player reaches them. Part way through the book the player forms a temporary alliance with Throm, one of the two barbarian competitors. This alliance is short-lived, however, as the player character and Throm are later forced by a Dwarf Trialmaster to fight each other to the death. After this encounter, the player learns from a dying elf, another participant, that they are required to collect a certain number of gems in order to win the contest. The player must then bypass the Pit Fiend, the rival Ninja, the Bloodbeast, and also a Manticore to reach Igbut the Gnome, who is the final Trialmaster. He asks for the gems and their correct combination in order to unlock the door to victory. The player must rely on luck to survive this encounter. If successful, the player character wins the prize of 10,000 Gold Pieces. Rules The book in general follows the original rules set down in The Warlock of Firetop Mountain (see Game System). Wizard Books Edition Rule Errors Some of the rules are incorrectly printed in the Wizard Books version of the book due to text being copied from The Warlock of Firetop Mountain. The rules state that Provisions can only be eaten when instructed by the text, which is not the case. The book also incorrectly states that the player has two doses of their chosen Potion at the beginning of the book, when in fact they have only one. The rules also incorrectly state that the player begins with a lantern when this is not the case. Cover and Illustrations Covers The original cover of the book was designed and illustrated by Iain McCaig. When the book was republished by Wizard the cover was once again re-worked, this time by Mel Grant. #Price of 2nd Impression #Price of 7th Impression Illustrations Intertextual References One of the characters in the book, a troll whose name is Ivy, refers to her brother Sourbelly, who was a nasty troll guard in City of Thieves. Sequels Deathtrap Dungeon is one of the most successful and popular of the Fighting Fantasy gamebooks, and one of the few to inspire a sequel, Trial of Champions, again by Ian Livingstone. A further follow-up, Armies of Death, follows the continuing exploits of the adventurer who completed Trial of Champions, although it is not set within Deathtrap Dungeon and bears little resemblance to the two first books. There was also a mini-sequel in Warlock Magazine Issue 7, called Deathtrap on Legs, by Paul Mason and Steve Williams. Other Media A Deathtrap Dungeon video game, produced by Eidos was released in 1998, as well as a multiplayer card game based on the setting. However, neither game is very similar to Livingstone's book. Further Notes *Ian Livingstone's favourite book from the Fighting Fantasy books is named as Deathtrap Dungeon.25th Anniversary Edition The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, page 220 *This book sold over 300,000 copies in the alone in less than a year.25th Anniversary Edition The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, page 204 *Ian Livingstone makes a cameo appearance as the ragged prisoner and former Trial of Champions contestant, in the illustration accompanying para 21025th Anniversary Edition The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, page 221 See Also *Fighting Fantasy References * * * Official sites: * * Magazines: * Deathtrap Dungeon 06 03